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If you use the "SCENE" (SCN) access on your mode dial, this will give you some control, as the camera's response settings will be to the kind of situation you yourself choose. As others have said, you can also use the "auto" setting, where the camera will choose the setting of ISO sensitivity, aperture, and shutter speed, and perhaps even which "SCENE" mode will be in use, or even which Custom Image section will be chosen, according to what it "thinks" is appropriate for what it is "seeing". So then your camera is functioning as a point-and-shoot device. But if you don't know exactly what the camera has chosen and/or why, you won't learn much by going this route. And, these "auto" modes will NOT allow you access to important adjustment settings, and most controls will be disengaged.
By selecting individual choices from the "SCN" mode, and then observing what the camera has selected based on that selection that is different from other "Scenes", then you could possibly learn something from doing this. But knowing what is going on and why is a necessity. Also, every picture-taking device essentially works the same way, according to the laws of physics. It has to have some form of light-reading meter to evaluate the lighting present in the part of the scene that is within the frame, so it can set the aperture and shutter speed to let in the right amount of light to the sensor (or film) for proper exposure. If there is too little or too much light to be within those capabilities, then the sensor's sensitivity to incoming light must be adjusted (ISO). All this nowadays can be done automatically by the device. However, there are lighting situations that can fool even the most well-computerized metering systems. If this happens with a "smart" phone or other point-and-shoot device affording no control by the user, there will likely be little or nothing that can be done to overcome this problem. Having such control via an advanced photographic instrument, such as your Pentax DSLR, can produce superior results both for dealing with tricky lighting and for manipulation to achieve variance from "normal" in order to gain a particular effect.
"D" is for Digital, and SLR is for Single Lens Reflex, meaning having an optical viewfinder that by viewing via a specially-designed prism allows one to view the scene actually through the lens attached to the camera instead of through a separate lens or on an electronic screen, which is an electronic representation of reality.
Here are some essential basics. Aperture- the lens opening, which is adjustable. It will let in more light when set to a larger, wider aperture value (smaller number is larger, while larger number means a smaller, narrower aperture). By manipulating this, you can control the depth of field (DOF) that is, how much of your picture will appear sharp or in focus in the background and foreground around your main subject. There is an intrinsic relationship between the lens aperture setting and the shutter speed. If using a larger aperture (again-smaller number) value, this will let in more light and there will need to be a correspondingly faster shutter speed which will let in less light. A big part of the fun is in selecting the balancing act between the two according to what you are looking for. Shutter speed is typically manipulated to either stop action for greater clarity of fast moving subjects, or deliberately using a slower shutter speed to cause some blur to indicate movement, as in flowing water. Some photographers like to take this to an extreme so the water tends to look like cotton candy! But in the necessity of balancing the aperture for proper exposure, you will also be changing DOF.
If you wish to shoot only in an automatic mode where you will be always selecting the aperture, this is the Av (Aperture value) mode on the dial- the camera will compensate by setting the shutter speed. If you wish to shoot only in an automatic mode where you will always be selecting the shutter speed, this is the Tv (Time value) mode on the dial- the camera will compensate by setting the aperture.
If you wish to shoot with the camera automatically selecting both aperture and shutter speed most of the time, set your mode dial to "P" (Program) instead, which does allow you access to all controls and adjustments, and to the exclusive Pentax Hyper System. When in P mode, and you see the camera has chosen an aperture or shutter speed other than what you would prefer, you can instantly change either aperture or shutter speed simply by using either your thumb or finger dial without having to first select Av or Tv on your mode dial! If wishing to return to full P mode, you can instantly do so with a touch of the green button.
By accessing the ISO control screen, you can have your ISO sensitivity set on Auto and select the range the camera will be limited to, or you can manually set the ISO to the degree you wish for the lighting you are facing. Less ISO value will be conducive to the best possible image quality. But lighting and/or fast movement doesn't always allow shooting at 100 ISO!
It is very important to also learn to use the "M"(Manual) mode where you set the aperture and the shutter speed by observing the meter indicator. Then, if switching the metering system to "spot" metering, you can train onto a particular small area and take readings from it instead of the whole scene. The exclusive Pentax Hyper Manual Sytem is also available- by hitting the green button in this mode, you get an instant meter-centered exposure setting. If wishing a different shutter speed or aperture, you can self-adjust from there.
With this basic information, you are in a position to shoot lots of photos and you can be on the road to discovery with all the tools, and without having to pay for film! And, greetings from a fellow senior, and welcome to the forum. We are always here for any questions.
Last edited by mikesbike; 11-26-2020 at 03:32 PM.
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Originally posted by luftfluss 
Post #21 by xcaret
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